An Aussie menswear label has revealed a real-deal Hawaiian shirt featuring the image of Prime Minister Scott Morrison, mocking the PM’s decision to carry on with a planned personal holiday amid the nation’s continuing bushfire crisis.
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Mr. Koya now offers punters the ‘Mahalo Scomo’ shirt, featuring the PM’s face nestled inside some otherwise-normal tropical flowers.
The name of the shirt refers to allegations that Morrison has, in fact, jetted with his family to Hawaii (while the PM’s office has confirmed Morrison’s holiday, we’re yet to hear the specifics).
Mr. Koya co-founder Yema Akbar said the PM’s leave, and the stunned public reaction to his absence during unprecedented blazes, prompted the label to cook up the wearable protest.
“It’s one of these things when you first hear it, it’s a sense of disbelief,” Akbar said.
While the shirt is a clear rebuke of the PM’s call, Akbar said the company will direct all profits from ‘Mahalo Scomo’ sales towards the volunteer-led Rural Fire Service.
“Apart from the rest of the country wondering ‘Where the bloody hell are you?’, we’re thinking how can we, in a tongue-in-cheek way, poke some fun at this, and create something that can be used for a good cause”, Akbar said.
While Morrison’s absence has been decried by political opponents and former emergency services chiefs, Akbar is adamant the button-up isn’t a stone-cold rebuke – and hopes Morrison may even pick one up for himself.
“This isn’t a partisan thing, but it’s one of those ways we can create a little bit of an artefact that not only looks good, can be kept, but can contribute to a really important cause,” he said.
Morrison may be at the back of the queue though, with Akbar claiming the Mr. Koya site temporarily buckled under the weight of web traffic after the shirt’s release.
Pre-sales are open now, but the shirts – which require a custom run of Tencel fabric – won’t be ready until next year.
If you’re still keen to have a peek at the site, which Akbar said was revived after “a bit of an all-nighter”, you can check it out here.
